What are you proud of? (Show Pic)

[selector]

What is the verdict, GTX?  Looks like a nice engine.

[da_kraut]

Hi GTX765,

just wondering how does your new Trix engine run?  Looks like it is well detailed but what is the performance from the unit and how do you like it?  I would appreciate your opinion.

Frank 

[GTX765]

I have run the engine very few times so far. My engine was ordered from Germany and the manual was in German and other languages. No English on the DCC page. I had to guess on the sound features. The engine runs very nice but noticed that the timing of the chuff and the motion of the engine matched. It sounds like a German steam i think. The whistle and other sounds are different from my BLIs. The fire box glows red and has three working lights one the front of the engine. It runs well but derailed once on a switch but that was my fault. It seems to have a strong engine or a different style than the BLIs. It runs super smooth and on any radius turns. It runs very well at low speeds. The buttons for sounds are way different than a US DCC sound setup. So you will need to make a cheat sheet to remember what is what. I have not used very much because I will not get any German rail cars until christmas. The rolling stock is super pricy. I hope this helps, I have it in the box. If there is a specific test or worry ask me and I will investigate.

[claycts]

The fact that the layout has been up and running with bullet proof track work and wiring for almost a year. (780 ft and 135 turnouts)

Oh to keep the picture thing going

The first of three roundhouses.

[jasperofzeal]

Thanks for the kind words Tony! It's HO scale.  I used Fog-In-A-Can to create the haze effect; the water is green cellophane wrap draped over a dark-gray piece Dow board, which I put in the aisle just long enough to snap the picture. The sky is another piece of light-blue Dow board.

Thanks for describing how you did the photo shoot, a very effective result.

[dcfixer]

Great pics through out the whole thread.  Such impressive work.....it inspires me.   This is my ACF UP dome obs lounge #9000 that I'm currrently working on.  I'm especially happy with the way the Coach Yard COLA tail sign came out after I bashed it (scary). I managed to pack 9 tiny surface mount LEDs into the bezel, and mount the stamped plastic stensil piece after I plained it down.  NO WAY was I going to cut a big ugly hole in my Soho and ruin the interior with all the electronics; I got big plans for that interior.  That metal bezel and stamped lettering are beautiful, and, to me, worth the money themselves.

http://uphonation.com

[HEdward]

Hey, Loathar, when a train starts up that Helix of yours, does it re-appear on the same day of operation, LOL?  That is SPECTACULAR!

Tom

Now that is funny

I've never seen a helix that goes from the floor af the sub-basement to the fourth floor.  Good thing our trains aren't running on batteries.

[Hoople]

Great pics through out the whole thread.  Such impressive work.....it inspires me.   This is my ACF UP dome obs lounge #9000 that I'm currrently working on.  I'm especially happy with the way the Coach Yard COLA tail sign came out after I bashed it (scary). I managed to pack 9 tiny surface mount LEDs into the bezel, and mount the stamped plastic stensil piece after I plained it down.  NO WAY was I going to cut a big ugly hole in my Soho and ruin the interior with all the electronics; I got big plans for that interior.  That metal bezel and stamped lettering are beautiful, and, to me, worth the money themselves.

Are those perhaps Rivarossi's UP ACF dome and Blunt end observation bashed together? I happen to have both cars that I won off ebay, but mine are custom painted.

[dcfixer]

That is a complete brass Soho, UP #9000.  I painted and lettered it myself.  It was MIB, and I got it from a little shop in the midwest.  The stairs you see are from Pallace Car Company.  That guy was great! He sold me 3 stairs, individually, so I wouldn't have to by an entire interior kit. I have some more pics of it at http://uphonation.com/

[NeO6874]

Right now, I'm most proud of my partially completed Walthers Roundhouse.

 

[HEdward]

Oh.....I can only be most proud of the fact that none of my trains(by that I mean all my train related stuff as well)have been broken in two years!  None of it is even in boxes!!!I hope it will be as safe on the layout as it has been on the shelves.

 

Just to add my kudos to all of you guys who posted photos.  GREAT JOB!  I'm thinking of adding a 3 stall round house since my spouse bought the turntable(see other thread).  Any advise as to how much space I'll nee to use for it and all its surrounding facilities?  Is this going to eat up half my 6X20 HO layout?

[MisterBeasley]

  GREAT JOB!  I'm thinking of adding a 3 stall round house since my spouse bought the turntable(see other thread).  Any advise as to how much space I'll nee to use for it and all its surrounding facilities?  Is this going to eat up half my 6X20 HO layout?

This is an overhead shot of my Atlas turntable (pit-bashed, but still only 9 inches long) and the Atlas roundhouse.  It measures about 24 inches from the edge of the turntable on the left to the back of the roundhouse on the right.  The roundhouse itself is 16 inches wide (top to bottom on this shot) and the extra stub tracks with the GP-9's on them are about 23 inches between from bumper to bumper.

 

[Hoople]

That is a complete brass Soho, UP #9000.  I painted and lettered it myself.  It was MIB, and I got it from a little shop in the midwest.  The stairs you see are from Pallace Car Company.  That guy was great! He sold me 3 stairs, individually, so I wouldn't have to by an entire interior kit. I have some more pics of it at http://uphonation.tripod.com/

Oh, I was off. The shape of the body reminded me of my cars, although seeing no interior I thought it was Rivarossi. Well, I guess I just was a bit off...

[eriefan]

Neat scene!  Can you tell us more on its construction, especially how you did the viaduct? Tony

[Gazoo]

Fairly recent scratchbuilt structure.

CNJ831

Wow, that's good stuff.  WOW.

WOW.

[CNW-man]

 I have to say that I am proud of several things. First is my P1K CNW F3, my very first engine:

She's been hauling my trains for quite a while, and she's also my screenname's orgin.

Next is my very first engine paint job: Riverside #1116:

I'm VERY proud of this engine, considering it even runs compared to the broken, metalic painted peice of it was. It's painted for my freelanced railroad, the Riverside RR

Then there's my first weathering job:

 

[Anonymous]

CNJ: WOW!!!!

CNW-man- Great job on the weathering!

BTW:

[Anonymous]

" border="0" />B&O on a night run

[CASSANDRA CROSSING]

that's pretty cool guy, I got dizzy just looking at it

[anteaum2666]

Maybe this . . . a foam helix

 

Or this . . . homemade switch controllers.  They route power and hold the points nice and secure.

 More pics on my website, http://www.wcnet.org/~wtpooh/index.htm

 

[back_pack]

I'm pretty proud of my Jordan spreader bashed from a Walthers kit in HO. Even took 'Best in Show' at the Titletown Train Show in Green Bay last year.

You can see photos of it here: http://www.greenbayroute.com/laurent190.htm  I couldn't get a photo to post.

Andy

[Great Western Rwy fan]

I would have to say My brass Empire Midland Great Western Rwy Locomotive #90.It had the usual brass color with a brass satin finish on it which I stripped and then repainted in correct GW colors then added the decal's.

[rio grande forever]

I guess this would be it for me...a heavily modified Athearn TM from the old days.

[zgardner18]

I guess this would be it for me...a heavily modified Athearn TM from the old days.

Wow, I'd like to see more, do you have a layout?

[jeffrey-wimberly]

My KCS SD40-2, KCS #666. Completely handpainted and decorated with decals I printed on Testor's decal paper.

 

 

[Anonymous]

My MDC Climax that I mounted on a Spectrum 44 ton chassis. It is also my first decoder install, ,my first paint job, and my first attempt at weathering. She runs sweet.

[wm3798]

My favorite part of the hobby is building scenery.  I'm proud to finally have scenes like this in my train room that I don't have to open a magazine to see...

I'm also proud of the fact that I got over my fear of DCC a few years ago.  It's made a huge difference in how I approach the hobby.

Lee 

[selector]

Lee, I am interested in your use of the word "fear" above.  It is a powerful emotion, and it afflicts us in all walks of life.  You used it in relation to your enjoyment of modelling, and yet your modelling is second to none!  It would be a fruitful discussion for all members who wanted to join in, on another thread, about how fear limits us in the hobby.  What do you feel your fear has done for your own journey to this point?  How has DCC changed your approach to the hobby?

BTW, and then I'll get out, when I have fear, overcoming it is always a great source of satisfaction...something about which a person can be proud!  I hope you are proud of your newfound confidence, and your enjoyment of what DCC has to offer.  Good for you.   We have all benefited from your trip dealing with fear, but also from your wonderful layout.

-Crandell

[wm3798]

Let me get comfortable on the couch, here Doc...

I believe that true enjoyment in life comes from expanding one's boundaries.  While it's always easy to say model railroading can be enjoyed at any skill level, I believe that if you don't strive to improve your skills and add new ones, you're wasting your time.  That being said, I enjoy vegging out watching my trains go round and round as much as the next guy, but I really enjoy having a few friends over to work the yard, run the mill switcher, and operate a full schedule of trains. 

When I first tried running with DCC, I was quickly frustrated by the complexity of the system I was using (at the club I belong to).  I had to ask one of the more experienced guys to set up the train I was running, and quickly grew weary of the effects of the layout's marginal trackwork and bad maintenence.  Once I figured out that the problems could be overcome with a simpler DCC system and more attention to the physical plant, I immediately saw the benefits.  The next obstacle was installing decoders in my growing fleet.  Around the same time, Atlas introduced N scale SD-35's with chips on-board (it didn't hurt that they also came in my favorite road name!)  I was off and running.  Next thing you know, I'm cutting up the frames of $90 diesels, frying decoders, and ultimately, getting the hang of it.  I now have about 40 engines operating on DCC, and I'm currently earning some extra train money by installing decoders for friends.

I know there are many for whom all of this isn't their cup of tea, but for me, there's no turning back.  And yes, I'm very proud of the fact that now people ask me the same questions I was asking 7 years ago.

Thanks for asking... is my time up?

Lee 

[selector]

Thanks, Less.  Yup, time's up.

But before you go, and I promise I won't be long in this other-subject thread, it seems to me that this hobby, almost more than any other, stretches a person's comfort levels.  Apart from universally requisite skill development, there is a strong emotional component that is manifest in what sits in the corner of the room for all to see.  It starts with identifying a favourite road or three, chosing a track plan that makes sense to us, figuring out how to lend it a workable profile, and then building it as best we can to conform to the idealized version we build in our head.  Then, reality sets in.  The trains don't go when we plug the power pack in.  What went wrong?  We break a rung off a prized new engine.  How do we replace it?  A decoder won't take programming.  What am I doing wrong?

This hobby relies on so many features and so much skill and technology all coming together at one point in time for it to bring a sigh of relief and a smile.  Small wonder that something as intuitively complicated as DCC and its 'stuff' seem like just one more impossible obstacle to getting those little motors to turn the wheels when we want them to.

Thanks, again.  I think you have something else to be proud of besides what you named in your reply to the thread, and I appreciate your taking the time to indulge me here a bit longer.

-Crandell